I Can Read You LIke An Open Book (Auslly)
by TrashyCapricorn
Summary: Austin and Ally find something pretty interesting while clearing out the closet in the practise room. This mysterious object becomes their best friend and worst enemy as the musical duo face all the challenges that lie ahead, but can Austin and Ally keep the feelings they harbour for each other a secret from the one person that can read them like an open book? HIATUS


**(A/N)**

 **I had this idea about two or three years ago when season 2 first came out. I would have forgotten about it if I hadn't have found the begining of this chapter saved on my tablet. So after finishing the chapter and undergoing heavy editing, ta da, the finished product. This story will sorta follow the plot of the show since it is now over *crys in corner* but mostly it will stick to the plotline I came up with back then. Oh before I forget**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own or profit from the disney channel show Austin and Ally. Wish I did though...it be nice to talk to Ross and Laura.**

 **Without further a do, you may read. Or you skipped over this and went straight to the chapeter ...I wouldn't blame you.**

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The store was still and quiet, closing time having past about an hour ago. The front door was locked and all the musical instruments had been put back to their original place. The counter had been cleaned and the floor swept but that was unfortunately not all the work that the two teenagers had been assigned. All the lights were off downstairs but on the top floor, coming from a slightly open door near the stairs, light could be seen and the sound of shuffling, clanging and the occasional chatter could be heard.

"Austin come look what I found", Ally beckoned; looking up from a box of old items she'd been sifting through.

The musical duo were in the practise room, Austin having agreed to help Ally clean out the walk in closet at the back corner of the room. Most of the stuff in the closet has been there since Ally's dad first bought the store so when Ally was handed the laborious task of cleaning it out she immediately went seeking for assistance. The only reason Austin had agreed was because Ally had went on a ramble fest when he had walked into Sonic Boom at the wrong time.

 _Ally was behind the counter on the ground floor of Sonic Boom trying to explain to a customer that the food court was at the other side of the mall when Austin walked in. As soon as she saw her friend, Ally muttered a quick apology to the lost man before rushing over to Austin._

 _"Austin I need your help. My dad wants me to clean out the closet in the practise room, and usually I wouldn't mind but that thing is full of so much old junk that it will take me all weekend by myself and I'll get so bored and I really want company but company that will help me and not just be useless. And Trish won't work even if I begged her and you know how Dez is. Not that either one of them is useless. I just don't want you getting a big head because I came to you first and-"_

 _"Ally! Are you asking me to help you clean out the closet this weekend?" Austin asked to try and get her to the point faster._

 _Ally blinked at him. "I thought I made that obvious! It's just that I need-"_

 _Austin already saw another ramble coming on and cut her off quickly. "If I agree to help you will you stop talking?" he asked hopefully._

 _Ally nodded vigorously. "Yes, okay, absolutely. Thank you but I don't think talk that much." Ally continued. "I mean if you think about it I could say a lot more for instance I could tell- oh you're going. Okay, bye."_

 _Without a word and shaking his head, Austin had already left the store, completely forgetting his reason for walking into the store in the first place._

Giving up on trying to piece a harmonica back together Austin made his way over to Ally, weaving in between the sorted piles of old junk and revivable instruments that were scattered around the room. Empty and filled boxes were stacked on the foosball table near the door and there was such a huge pile of junk next to the open closet that the jukebox in the far corner of the room was no longer visible. Luckily, the windows, that were adjacent to the practise room door, were still clear, allowing the evening sun to let some light into the room. After navigating his way through the maze of old items, some sentimental and others useless, Austin looked over Ally's shoulder into the box she had in front of her.

"What is it? All I see in this box is junk." He commented.

Ally turned around and gave him a look.

"Nah ah." She said, and then pursed her lips. "Ok well most of it is but look at this." She took an old red mp3 player with matching earphones out of the box and held it up for Austin to see.

He raised an eyebrow. "An mp3 player? Does it have your first song on it or something?"

Ally walked across the room, almost tripping over rogue instruments or other miscellaneous objects more than once, to the black piano and sat on the matching stool, where she and Austin wrote most of his songs together. She twisted in her seat so she was facing the curious blonde. She lifted the mp3 player and held it in front of her face, wedging her bottom lip between her teeth as she examined it. Austin ignored the way his heart fluttered at her absentminded habit but he also couldn't help but notice that her eyes were glazed over as if she was stuck in a memory that, Austin bet, revolved around the red object she held in her hand. She still hadn't answered his question. Austin stood where he was and put his hands in his pockets. She had been silent for over a minute. Austin waited.

"It's more important than my first song." Ally replied finally.

Austin smiled. "What could be more important than Ally Dawson's first song?"

Ally looked at him and returned his smile. She felt her face heat up and she knew she was blushing at his comment.

"Well it's not really what's on it that determines its wealth but more so the story behind it."

"Care to share that story with me?"

"I suppose." Ally took a stifling breath. She dropped her hand and looked up at Austin who was waiting patiently.

"See, remember when I told you how I got stage fright." Austin nodded. "Well, after failing to get into M.U.N.Y. I gave up on music for a little while. I took refuge in school and focused on studying. Soon I was getting A's in every subject. But my favourite subject was always science, second to music of course but at this time I refused to acknowledge music."

"What does any of this have to do with the mp3 player?" Austin interrupted. Truth be told, he was interested in hearing about this little piece of Ally's past that he didn't already know but at that moment his top priority was the mp3 player. His instincts told him it was important or there was something really special about it, but he couldn't exactly place why. Maybe it was the way her eyes had lit up when she saw it but then, just as quickly, she had furrowed her brows as if offended by the item at hand. As Austin asked the question he had moved from standing to sitting on one of the red chairs in front of the sound board and next to the door, spinning it so he was facing Ally.

Ally glared at him, annoyed at being interrupted. "I was getting to that part if you would just be patient. As I was saying," she continued, "I refused to acknowledge music so I made science my new passion. Now I love mixing chemicals as much as the next girl but physics, physics was my favourite. With physics you can invent something that can fly you to the moon and back. So I wanted to make something. I tried to make an mp3 player from scratch but," she paused and blushed. Austin raised an eyebrow. "I took apart this mp3 player in a fit of rage, okay." She blurted out, lifting up the mp3 player she still clutched in her hand to put emphasis on it, then continued eyes cast down as to not see Austin's reaction to what she had to say next. "The mp3 player I was trying to make was falling apart, and I was mad at myself for even thinking about music, and this mp3 player was just sitting there mocking me. And yes, you were right. 'The Butterfly Song', was recorded on it. So I tried to use all my newfound scientific knowledge to put it back together again. It was going well and then," she let out a breathy sigh. "I don't even know what I did but after it was all fixed and I was trying to listen to my song, my dad came in. I only put in one earphone so could still l hear what my dad was saying but, instead of hearing music in my left ear I heard my dad's voice. It was like he was whispering. In by left ear my dad's whispering voice and in my right, him telling me to help close the store, altogether it was giving me a headache. I thought briefly that he had just accidentally recorded a track and it had ended up on my mp3 but when he left and I put the other earbud in, there was silence. I tried to change the track and all I found was my song, it was as if the whispering was all in my head."

Ally looked up at Austin to see his gaze was fixated on her, taking in her every word. But did he believe her?

It took Austin a moment to register she had stopped speaking. Her story was…interesting. He honestly didn't know what to think, her experience was so abnormal and weird. He knew she wasn't lying, contrary to her belief, she was in fact a terrible liar and anyone could spot a lie of hers from a mile away. So the fact that she wasn't making all this up, made it all the more intriguing.

"So what you do with it?" He asked, gesturing to the contraption in her hand.

Ally laughed so quickly and so suddenly that it was practically a snort. Upon seeing Austin's questioning gaze she swiftly explained. "Well, basically I just threw it in a box and stuffed it into the far back corner of the closet. I forced myself not to think about it and I haven't, until now." She smiled and clasped her hands together before narrowing her eyes at the offended objet that was the centre of her woes at the time.

Austin stifled a laugh. The expression on her face was comical, her doe eyes were scrunched up and her lips were curled in distaste. Austin stood up before coming to stand in front of his petite partner with his hand out stretched, palm facing up.

Ally looked up in surprise to find Austin towering over her. She followed his gaze as it moved from the mp3 player to his out stretched hand before settling on her.

"May I?" He asked, a smile on his face and his chocolate brown eyes dancing with mirth.

Ally heaved a sigh then, with little hesitation, handed over her mp3 player.

Austin flashed a toothy grin as he plugged the earphones into his ears. He pressed play and immediately he heard the opening notes to 'The Butterfly Song' being played on a piano, soon Ally's velvet voice was accompanying the soft melody as the song progressed. He turned up the volume by a few notches and began tapping his foot to the rhythm. He looked at Ally, noticing her watchful gaze, he decided to try and change the track. He pressed the button and then…silence. Confused, Austin tried to pause and play the track but nothing. He changed the track and was once again was hit by 'The Butterfly Song'. He answered Ally's questioning gaze with a shrug. It was entirely possible that there was just an empty track downloaded onto the mp3 player.

Ally got up as well, level with Austin's nose in height, and stood next to her musical partner, her hand out stretched. Austin handed her one of the earphones and she stuck it in her left ear as Austin moved the other earphone from his left ear to his right.

 _I don't hear anything._ Ally thought to herself.

"Neither do I." Austin replied to her unspoken thought.

"Huh?" Ally questioned, turning to look at him.

"You said you couldn't hear anything, well neither can I."

"I…" _Did I say that out loud?_

Austin raised an eyebrow. "Yes, yes you did." Austin shrugged off Ally's weird behaviour and focused back on the mp3 player, it seemed that there just was an empty track on it and Ally must have imagined her dad's voice coming from the earpiece, either that or her memory is jumbled up. _Ally always was a little bit odd._ Austin smiled at the thought.

"Hey!" Ally exclaimed suddenly causing Austin to jump.

"What!?"

"I'm not odd, just uniquely amazing."

"I never said you were odd." Austin defended, unconvincingly. Did he say that out loud?

"Yes you did I heard you!" Ally poked Austin's chest with her right index finger.

Austin shook his head and held his hands up in surrender. "And even if I did call you odd, take it as a compliment. I meant that you are independent and special." Austin grinned at her, hoping to deflate some of her annoyance. Ally just rolled her eyes and went to remove the earphone from her ear but froze instead.

 _She is special. She might be a little weird but I'd be nowhere without her and she's super loyal. I couldn't ask for a better friend and partner. And her weird nature can be adorable at times anyway._

Ally looked at Austin as his voice played in her ear. His mouth wasn't moving. Slowly, her own mouth dropped open as her brain finally functioned properly and allowed her to put two and two together. She didn't even have enough brain power left to gush at his sweet words.

"Austin! I think…Austin I can hear your thoughts!" Ally practically shouted.

He didn't look convinced. Ally internally groaned before saying "You just said; no thought, that I'm super loyal and my weird nature can be adorable." In her haste and excitement Ally forgot to blush at the words she just uttered out load, but it was okay, as it seemed Austin was doing all the blushing for her.

"How-"

"Look let me think something." Ally cut him off.

She went blank. She blinked then blinked again. Anything. She could think of anything and now she decided she had nothing.

Austin let out a chocked laugh when all he heard was silence and all he could she was Ally's face scrunched up in concentration.

Ally shot him with a fierce glare. _Um…can you hear me? Really Ally, that's all you could think of?_

Austin's laughter stopped short and his eyes widened, her lips weren't moving. "Yes…"

Ally almost squealed in excitement. "Okay, now you think of something!" She ordered.

Austin was perplexed. _Umm…hello…hello hello._

Ally nodded enthusiastically. "Hello." It seemed at that moment it finally sunk in and Austin realised exactly what was happening. Austin and Ally locked gazes, before simultaneously looking down at the mp3 player in Austin's hand. Ally grinned. Austin looked scared. They both screamed.

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 **Hehe. Lemme know what you think of the story and my over all context by writing a review. It be amazing to know what You think of my writing and let me know if i portrayed Austin and Ally's characters corretly. Keep in mind that they grow and develope in the show and this takes place in season 2, Ally isn't the shy girl we meet in season one but also isn't the confident woman we know in season 4. And Austin, well Austin is Austin.**

 **Also I am currently in the middle of exams, doing my Junior Cert so I really should't have taken the time write now to write and upload this story but I just couldn't wait. Tomorrow I'm writing paper two of maths and c.s.p.e. and I've barely studied. Sigh. I'm a level 11 procrastinator.**

 **Anyhoo, thank you for reading and please R &R.**

 **~TrashyCapricon**


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